Meltdown (7 page)

Siddie had reached the top of the building; the long
climb up to the penthouse apartment had done
nothing to cool his temper, which was always close
to boiling point.

Fergus was waiting on the same floor, peering
through the crack in the door to the service stairs.
He watched the grim-faced Siddie go by and he
waited.

By the time Siddie walked into the apartment,
his two henchmen had hoisted Teddy up and then
leaned his battered body against one of the
expensive, but now bloodstained, sofas.

Teddy's face was a bloody mess; it would be some
while before Mummy saw her son at his handsome
best – if he lived that long.

Siddie looked down at Teddy and then back at the
two gorillas. 'Which one is this?'

Mr Muscles and Blubber Man gazed at each other
blankly and then back at Siddie. Mr Muscles
shrugged his bulging shoulders. 'We didn't ask.'

Siddie sighed. 'Go and wait in the car while I talk
to . . . ' He turned back to the young man on the floor
and raised his eyebrows enquiringly.

The blood-soaked figure on the carpet swallowed
a mixture of blood and mucus and managed to gasp
out a single word: 'Teddy.'

'Siddie Richards. You might have heard of me.'

The two henchmen were on their way out when
Siddie called after them, 'Use the stairs. And leave
the paintings where they are.'

This was exactly what Danny and Lee wanted to
hear – they had picked up every word Siddie had
spoken through the double-socket bug.

As Fergus watched the two heavies head for the
main staircase, Danny and Lee were already out of
the Mondeo and into the apartment building, also
using the service entrance. Moving into the
reception area at the front of the building, they
pulled Tasers from their pockets before going
through the doors to the main stairs.

Lee checked that Danny had a firm grip on the
Taser before whispering to him, 'You all right?'

Danny nodded.

'Good. Don't worry, you'll be OK. You take the
one on the right. Be sharp. Don't think, just do.'

Danny nodded again, his mouth suddenly dry
and his hands clammy. He knew why Lee was concerned
and anxious to reassure him. He was about
to take offensive action for the first time; actually
attack another person. Until this moment Danny
had always been on the receiving end of an attack,
only fighting to escape. This time it would be very
different.

Siddie was sitting in an armchair close to Teddy,
who was still sprawled against the sofa, one hand
holding his side. He was sure that at least one of his
ribs was broken.

Siddie toyed with the baseball bat as he considered
his options. When he spoke, his words
terrified Teddy more than all the punches, blows
and kicks he had received in the previous fifteen
minutes.

'Now, I see it like this,' said Siddie in his highpitched
voice. 'You've got a business that I want. I
like the simple life, Teddy, so I'm giving you a
choice.'

Teddy groaned; he was convinced now that he
was going to die.

'I could make this long and extremely painful for
you, Teddy,' said Siddie, standing up and giving the
bat a gentle swing to and fro as if preparing to
receive a pitch. 'But I can't be bothered with that
stuff any more. So this is what I'm gonna do. I'm
gonna ask you just once to tell me all I need to know
about Meltdown: where you make it, how you sell
it, distribute it – everything. Understand me so far,
Teddy?'

Teddy nodded, then winced.

'Good. And you're gonna tell me everything.
Right? Because if you don't, I'm gonna hit you once
with this baseball bat. It will only take one blow to
the side of your head. You'll be dead, Teddy. Gone.
Capisce?'

Teddy swallowed hard and nodded again.

Siddie gave the bat a proper swing, as if he were
attempting to hit the ball out of the stadium. 'And
when you're dead, I'll just get everything I need
from your brother. Time to start talking, Teddy. And
remember, you only get one chance.'

Teddy drew in a breath and opened his mouth.
But as he watched Siddie's fingers tighten on the
baseball bat, his throat convulsed and he choked.

'All right, Teddy, you've had your chance . . .'

Teddy gasped and once again tried to speak, and
then his eyes widened as he saw a figure appear
through the door from the hall.

Siddie saw his victim's eyes flick to one side and
then the tiny glimmer of hope that followed.

He wheeled round, grasping the baseball bat
tightly; ready to take on whoever was behind
him.

Fergus was less than three metres away, pistol
raised and aimed at Siddie's head.

Siddie's narrow eyes registered a moment of total
confusion.

A dull thud sounded and he staggered back,
blood spurting from the back of his head like a red
aerosol spray before his legs gave way and he fell
back like a toppling chimney. He thudded to the
floor. Both legs twitched for a moment and then
were still.

Fergus walked over and stared down at the
body. In death, Siddie's eyes were wide open.

At that instant Teddy's bladder finally gave way,
and he pissed himself. He felt shame, terror, relief
that he was still alive – and an overwhelming
gratitude towards the man who had saved his life.

'You . . . you killed him,' he mumbled as Fergus
turned towards him.

Fergus shrugged, hiding his disappointment that
he had been forced to act before Teddy had revealed
any of the info on Meltdown. He shoved the
weapon back into his waistband. 'He won't be
missed.'

Mr Muscles and Blubber Man were chatting contentedly
as they made their way down the stairs.
They rarely got the opportunity to pulverize posh
boys; it was almost always other low-life like themselves.
So when the chance came along, they liked
to enjoy themselves and make the most of it. Their
only regret was that it had been all too brief; they
could happily have done a lot more damage before
Siddie took over. Still, it was a job well done.

The staircase was little used; the residents of the
apartment block hadn't paid over the odds
merely for a canal view. There were two efficient
lifts that made climbing stairs an unnecessary
inconvenience.

So the two heavies were not expecting to meet
anyone as they plodded down. They reached the
landing of the third floor, turned and continued
down the next flight of stairs.

Danny and Lee were waiting out of sight on the
second floor, immediately after the next turn.
Danny's hands were wet with sweat and he was
repeatedly wiping his Taser hand on his jeans so
that he could keep a firm grip on the weapon.

His face was a mask of concentration as he got the
nod from Lee to go. They both held their Tasers in
their right hands as they heard the approaching
voices getting louder in the stairwell above them.
As Danny turned the corner with Lee, he could see
the two targets at the top of the stairs. The huge
guys' conversation immediately shut down when
they caught sight of Danny and Lee and came down
towards them.

Lee kept his eyes lowered: he knew the rule –
never make eye contact with a target because he
will be alert and suspicious. And no matter how
hard an attacker tries to disguise it, his eyes will
always show intent, or fear, or determination. The
target's inner self-defence mechanism will always
spot this.

The two pairs closed on each other, but the targets
had no intention of giving way to the two young
dickheads coming up towards them.

Lee stopped and stood to one side, with the
targets about ten steps above, waiting for them to
pass before zapping them from behind.

Danny's head was thumping in time with his
heart. He could feel his pulse in his neck; he was
certain everyone could hear it as he too stopped and
waited.

Then Danny made his mistake. He knew he
shouldn't have but he couldn't stop himself: his
eyes moved upwards towards the two heavies.
Maybe he was checking out where he was going to
zap his target, maybe he wanted to see what they
were thinking, or maybe he was just scared.

But he did it. He fixed his eyes on the target on his
side of the stairs. Blubber Man's pupils closed down
as he focused on Danny's eyes. And he knew.
Danny had given him all the information he
needed.

'Oh, shit!'

The rest happened in an instant. Blubber Man
launched himself at Danny, and Lee had no option
but to move up to take on Mr Muscles before he too
had registered what was happening.

Danny didn't even have time to raise his Taser as
the mass of fat slammed into him and projected him
down the stairs. His head thumped on the last few
steps before crashing back onto the landing.

Starbursts flashed in his head and eyes as his
brain struggled to recover. His head was telling
his legs to move, to get him up and ready to fight,
but the message wasn't getting through. All Danny
could do was keep a grip on the Taser as Blubber
Man hurled himself down onto his body. Every bit
of breath was forced from Danny's lungs and he
fought for oxygen, kicking and bucking beneath the
giant man as a massive hand gripped his neck and
two staring, bloodshot eyes blazed into his own.

'Who the fuck are you?'

Danny didn't even attempt to answer. He didn't
have the breath. He couldn't move his hand to zap
the huge bulk on top of him. All he could do was
writhe and twist as Blubber Man's face came closer.
He could smell alcohol and tobacco and feel a
couple of days' stubble rasp across his skin as the
man shouted loudly into his ear.

'Little shit!' Then Blubber Man's free hand was
reaching into the back pocket of his jeans for the
pliers.

Danny didn't know if it was his survival instinct
or training – it was as though he was on auto mode.
He opened his mouth and sank his teeth into
Blubber Man's stubbly face. The huge guy growled
and Danny felt the skin break as his teeth sank into
the flesh and scraped against cheekbone.

Metallic-tasting blood poured from the wound:
Blubber Man screamed and pulled himself free,
ripping his face from Danny's teeth. He drew back
one massive clenched fist, intending to land a
punch that would splatter Danny's brains across the
floor.

It gave Danny enough room to move his arm and
zap Blubber Man in the chest. But the 100,000 watts
crackling into his body wasn't enough. Perhaps it
was all those protective, insulating layers of fat, or
maybe Danny just didn't ram home the Taser into
his chest firmly enough. But as he pulled it away,
Blubber Man got up and staggered back, looking
stunned and bewildered, then growled like a
wounded bear and came back at him.

Danny leaped to his feet, adrenalin driving away
the pain and fear as he ducked under the giant's
flailing arms, brought the Taser up hard into his
guts and gave him a long burst. This time the fat
man went down, crashing on top of the prone body
of Mr Muscles, who was sprawled out on the
landing.

Danny suddenly realized that Lee must have
managed to down his target too – he had been
aware of nothing but his struggle with Blubber
Man.

Lee gave Mr Muscles another burst as he hissed at
Danny, 'Give him some more! Keep him down!'

Danny gave the fat man another five seconds and
then staggered back against the wall, sucking in air.
He became aware of something in his mouth and
almost gagged as he spat out a piece of Blubber
Man's flesh. He leaned against the wall, gasping,
fighting back the vomit that was rising in his throat.

Lee grabbed Danny's shoulders and pulled him
upright. He knew exactly what he was going
through; everyone has a first time.

He stared into Danny's eyes. 'You'll dream about
it for a while but you just have to deal with it. OK?'

Danny took two deep breaths and then nodded.
'Yeah.'

'You did good, mate. Well done. Now clean yourself
up.'

Danny nodded at his grandfather as he entered
the apartment, confirming that Siddie's three
thugs had been dealt with successfully. Teddy
had managed to haul himself up onto one of
the bloodstained sofas and was sitting clutching
his damaged ribs with one hand and dabbing his
bloodied nose and mouth with pieces of tissue with
the other.

Danny's face was still red as the blood pumped
around his body. He thought he'd wiped his face
clean but there was still a little blood on his neck.

Fergus pointed towards it. 'Yours? You OK?'

Danny wiped his neck and shook his head.
'Theirs. I'm OK.'

But Fergus wasn't convinced. 'Bit of a drama
down there?'

'I'll deal with it,' said Danny firmly.

Then he caught sight of the prone body of Siddie;
his face had shattered where the bullet entered, and
for an instant Danny had an image of Elena, lying
dead on the ground in Central Park. He forced the
thought away – he couldn't allow himself to dwell
on it; it was too painful. He had to focus on the job;
concentrate; stay professional.

Instead, he watched his grandfather. Fergus had
his own game plan completely worked out. He'd
given Teddy long enough to take in the enormity of
what had happened in his apartment. Teddy was
deliberately not looking at Siddie's body, which
lay like a beached whale on the carpet, the blood
soaking into the weave. Violence was something he
could ask of others; he couldn't cope with it himself.

Fergus sat down next to him on the sofa. Now it
was time to get the information he wanted.

'All right. As I've just saved your life, I think it's
time I knew exactly what's going on, don't you,
Teddy?' He nodded towards the body on the floor.
'And don't give me any crap about him wanting to
take over your coach firm. Blokes like that aren't
interested in executive travel.'

Teddy hesitated, dabbing at his nose again as he
tried to think what to say. 'I . . . I don't know. I
honestly don't. I can't imagine why someone like
that—'

'Forget it.' Fergus was on his feet. 'Listen, Teddy,
you're not paying me nearly enough to get involved
in something like this. Consider our contract terminated.
Come on, Danny.'

They headed for the door.

'Wait! Please!' Teddy couldn't stop himself from
taking another look at Siddie's body.

Fergus stopped, looked back and waited for
Teddy to continue.

'What do I do? About . . . that?'

Fergus didn't reply immediately. He was playing
a part, appearing to consider whether or not he
would help Teddy. It was all an act, and Danny
knew it. But his grandfather was good at acting;
he knew that too.

'I'll tell you what I'll do, Teddy,' Fergus said at
last. 'As a gesture of goodwill. I'll get rid of it for
you.'

'You . . . you can do that? But . . . but how?'

'You don't need to know. It'll be done, that's all.'

It would be simple. All Fergus needed to do was
put in a call to Dudley and a team of 'cleaners'
would come in, remove the body and dispose of it
before clearing up the blood in the flat and on the
stairs. By midnight the only sign that there had been
any sort of disturbance in the apartment would be
the smashed-in door. But that didn't matter: it
was the top-floor penthouse so no one was going to
see it.

'You'd better get yourself down the hospital,' said
Fergus to Teddy. 'Check out that damage to your
ribs. And by the look of it, you've got a busted nose
as well.'

'But what do I tell them? They'll want to know
how it happened.'

'Say you were mugged.' It was almost as if he was
talking to a child. 'But don't get the police involved.
And call your brother. Tell him not to come back
here tonight.'

Fergus feigned indifference as he walked over to
Siddie's body, but it was a deliberate move; it meant
that Teddy couldn't avoid seeing the body yet again
as they spoke. Teddy tried not to look down, but
then Fergus kneeled to take a closer look at his
handiwork.

'Tell your brother to meet you at the hospital and
then go to a hotel. By the time you get back here
tomorrow the body will be gone. And so will we.'

Teddy struggled to his feet, gasping as a new
wave of pain shot through his body. 'Look, there
is
something more . . .'

Fergus had Teddy exactly where he wanted him;
all he needed to do now was reel him in. 'Not
interested. I'll call you about where to send the rest
of my fee. Whatever's going on here is not our
problem any more, mate. It's yours.'

Teddy almost gagged as he spoke – he couldn't
help glancing down at Siddie's face, the eyes glazed
over now like those of a dead fish. 'I want to tell
you about it, I want you to stay involved, but I have
to speak to my brother first. I have to convince
him that it's the right thing to do. We're partners in
this. And . . . and it's . . . what we do . . . it's not
exactly . .. legal.'

Fergus stood up before replying, looking Teddy
straight in the eye. 'You really think I expected
legal?' He glanced down at Siddie. 'Illegal doesn't
worry me as long as it's lucrative. Very lucrative.
But you'd better be quick, Teddy. We've got plenty
of other clients waiting out there. You want Danny
to drive you to the hospital?'

Teddy shook his head. 'I'll manage.' He looked
over at Danny. 'Perhaps you could help me to my
car though?'

'Yeah. No problem.'

'Use the stairs, not the lift,' said Fergus to Danny.
'Best not to let anyone see him in that condition.' He
saw his grandson's raised eyebrows and nodded.

Danny helped Teddy up and they started to make
their way towards the door, but then Teddy
stopped, turned, wincing with pain, and
looked at Fergus. 'The other two . . . they might
still .. .'

'You don't have to worry about them. Danny's
taken care of them.'

Teddy stared at Danny, then at Fergus, and then
back at Danny as he struggled to take in what they
had done that night.

Danny just nodded and smiled and supported
Teddy as he shuffled slowly out of the apartment.

As soon as they had gone, Fergus pulled out his
mobile and speed-dialled Lee's number. 'Are they
still out?'

'Sleeping like babies.'

'Give them another burst and then clear out.
Danny's on the way down with Teddy. I want him
to see exactly what we've done for him.'

*

Teddy spotted the two sprawled-out bodies the
moment Danny eased him around the turn at
the landing above.

He froze. 'Are they . . . are they dead?'

Danny shook his head. 'Stunned. They'll be out
for quite a while.'

'But when they do come round . . . they might—'

'They'll get out, Teddy, that's what they'll do. And
they won't come back.'

They moved slowly down the stairs. When they
reached the landing, Teddy stopped by the two
bodies.

Mr Muscles was snoring beneath Blubber Man,
who still had blood oozing from his face.

Teddy's own face contorted in anger. He leaned
on Danny and then viciously kicked Blubber Man in
the guts.

'Bastards!'

Blubber Man didn't even stir, and Teddy was
ready to get in a few more kicks, but Danny pulled
him away.

'Steady on. A few more of those might just wake
them,' he told him. 'Let's get you to hospital.'